

No Guarantor Loans for People with Bad Credit

Do you need a bad credit loan without a guarantor? You might be surprised to hear this, but you still might be able to get a bad credit loan without having to find a guarantor, depending on your circumstances.

On this page, we look at what options are available for borrowers with a low credit score seeking unsecured personal loans with no guarantor.

What is a bad credit loan?

A bad credit loan is a type of personal loan for borrowers with less than perfect credit histories.

Poor credit loans are offered to qualifying borrowers for between £100 and £5,000. People borrowing between £1,001 and £5,000 can repay over a period of between three months and three years. For amounts of £1,000 or less, loans are repayable over three, six, or twelve months.

Poor credit loans are not payday loans. With these, borrowers repay their payday loans in one go around a month after they've received the money in their bank account. Some payday lenders may offer up to 35 days to settle in full.

Can I get a loan without a credit check?

What is a guarantor loan?

With a guarantor loan, someone else agrees to cover any monthly repayment you're due to make if you're not able to do so.

Borrowers often choose to apply for a guarantor loan because they're concerned that their bad credit rating means that lenders will be highly likely to decline their request for finance.

What if you default on a guarantor loan? When a loan goes into default, it means that a borrower has fallen behind on their repayments and either:

  • the lender and borrower have worked out a new repayment schedule, but the borrower is not making the payments they've agreed to in time or
  • the lender and the borrower have not been able to work out a new repayment schedule - one reason for this might be that the borrower is asking for too long to sort out their financial affairs before they start to repay their loan again.

If you default on a guarantor loan, your guarantor becomes liable for the balance of what's left on your loan. They may be asked to pay it back in instalments or, depending on the lender's terms and conditions, the entire balance might be repayable on demand.

Applications for guarantor loans are often supported by a friend or family member under the age of 75.

Can I get a loan with bad credit and no guarantor?

It may be possible to do so, depending on your circumstances. Please read below to find out more.

Loans without a guarantor

For every lender who requires a borrower to provide them with a guarantor before they’ll consider an application for finance, there are many more bad credit lenders who don't.

If you need money and you really don't want to have a guarantor, you may wish to try for a standard bad credit loan instead.

How to get a loan with bad credit in the UK?

You can apply for a bad credit loan direct from a lender or via a broker.

Brokers don't actually lend money to borrowers - what they do is match the right borrower to the right lender.

Brokers offer two big advantages to customers seeking a loan for bad credit:

  • brokers use the information that borrowers provide them with on their application form to find the lenders most likely to approve a borrower's request, and
  • there'll only ever be a maximum of one hard credit search which will be run on a borrower. And that's only if a borrower make a complete finance application and they give permission to the lender they've been referred to carry out the hard search.

This second advantage is particularly important. If you approach a number of lenders direct instead of going through a broker, each lender will carry out a hard search on you when you've:

  • filled in all your details on the application form and
  • given your permission to the lender to run the search.

The more hard searches a lender sees on your report in a short space of time, the less likely you are to be accepted for a loan. That's because a lender might think you're struggling to manage your finances. Even worse, your credit rating may also be adversely affected.

How is it different with a broker?

Brokers work with a panel of lenders, many of whom are happy to work with borrowers with a low credit score. When a broker admits a new lender to their panel, the broker asks the lender to tell them about the types of loans they prefer to make and the types of borrowers they're more likely to approve.

When you apply to a broker, this is how the process works:

  • You can borrow between £100 and £5,000. Choose the time you want to pay the loan back in (sometimes called the "loan term") - 3, 6, or 12 months for amounts between £100 and £1,000 and 3 months to 3 years for sums between £1,001 and £5,000.
  • Fill in the broker's application form - provide them all the details they need (including how much you get paid each month by work)
  • Your broker then approaches each of their partner lenders in turn. Each lender contacted performs a soft credit search. Soft searches can't be seen by other lenders and they don't affect your credit score.
  • The broker then re-directs you to the website of the first lender who indicates that they would like you to make a full application (if they find one).
  • Fill in the lender's application form in full. The lender will perform a hard credit search (with your permission) and then make an instant decision on whether they'll approve your loan request.

If your loan request is accepted and you receive an offer, make sure that you feel comfortable with the following four factors before you decide to proceed:

  • Monthly repayments - how much you'll pay each month.
  • Interest rates - the fixed rate you pay on your loan and how much interest you'll pay in total on your loan. The rate may be higher than the representative APR indicated on the lender's website.
  • Fees - check to see if there are any other charges that you may have to pay to the lender.
  • Terms and conditions.

If you want to go ahead, let the lender know by pressing the appropriate button on their website and the cash will be in your bank account within minutes*.

Bad credit loans without a guarantor – how to apply?

To get an instant decision on a loan where you don't need to have a perfect credit score to be considered, fill in our easy and quick online form. There are no fees for applying to Little Loans' broker service and a maximum of one hard credit search will be carried out, which would only happen if you decide to complete an application with the lender. We have both guarantor and non-guarantor lenders on our panel; however you don’t need a guarantor to apply for a loan on Little Loans.

All loans are subject to status and the decision on whether to approve your loan or not is based upon your personal and financial situation and other factors.

If you receive a quote and you're certain that you can meet all of the monthly repayments comfortably, just let the lender we find for you know that you're happy to proceed.

Making a responsible financial choice

Please only apply for a no guarantor loan if you're certain that you can comfortably meet all of the monthly repayments in full and on time.

Concerned about debt? You may benefit from contacting one of the following organisations - StepChange, PayPlan, National Debtline, the Debt Advice Foundation, the Money Advice Service, and Citizens Advice.

Little Loans is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Check out our 4.8 star rating on Feefo

See more feefo reviews

Straight forward


Laurissa Marsden
